'Eaters Drop Big West Opener, 2-0 - UCI Athletics (2024)

'Eaters Drop Big West Opener, 2-0 - UCI Athletics (1)

Matt Brown

  • Box Score

'Eaters Drop Big West Opener, 2-0 - UCI Athletics (2)

2

WinnerCal St. FullertonCSF(5-3-3, 1-0-0)

'Eaters Drop Big West Opener, 2-0 - UCI Athletics (3)

UC IrvineUCI(3-5-1, 0-1-0)

Winner

'Eaters Drop Big West Opener, 2-0 - UCI Athletics (4)

Cal St. FullertonCSF

(5-3-3, 1-0-0)

2

Final

UC IrvineUCI

(3-5-1, 0-1-0)

'Eaters Drop Big West Opener, 2-0 - UCI Athletics (5)

Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Cal St. Fullerton CSF 0 2 2
UC Irvine UCI 0 0 0

Game Recap: Men's Soccer | | Alex Roberts-Croteau

IRVINE, Calif. --- UC Irvine men's soccer began Big West action Wednesday night in Anteater Stadium falling to Cal State Fullerton, 2-0.

  • The first half was scoreless with a lot of setup and feeling out of the other team. There was one shot between the sides in the first 28 minutes before the Titans began to put up shots wide of the net.
    • Luke Pruter returned to action after missing the last seven with a broken finger and made a brilliant diving save through traffic in the final minute of the half to keep it 0-0.
  • The second half started with a bang as the Titans found the back of the net 59 seconds in.
    • A feed upfield found Fitz Williams who reversed course across the top of the box and curled a shot around Pruter and inside the far left post to put CSF ahead, 1-0
    • Cal State Fullerton doubled their lead in the 58th minute. Jose de la Torre received a pass from the sideline and drove toward goal fending off a pair of 'Eaters and firing a shot that took a slight deflection and bounded around Pruter for a 2-0 Titan advantage
  • UC Irvine never really found its footing on offense. A pair of changeup shots were saved by CSF keeper Brandon Limes, and another attempt by Misael Gonzalez set up beautifully by Mathias Winum and Francesco Montanile from the left side of the six-yard box was footed aside by a crashing defender.
  • Cal State Fullerton doubled UCI in shots, 14-7, but had just five on frame to UCI's three with each keeper snagging three saves. Another Titan shot rang off the post in the in the 81st minute.
  • The fans showed out with a second straight crowd of over 1,000 in attendance. The 1,335 is the ninth largest in program history and fourth-largest for a regular season match.
  • UCI finishes their four-match home stretch with a record of 2-2, and they now stand 3-5-1 overall on the season. Next up is a trip to UC Davis for a 3:00 p.m. match this Saturday, October 5

Luke full extension to keep this out late in the first half #RipEm pic.twitter.com/sNbmFK9jnQ

— UCI Men's Soccer (@UCImsoc) October 3, 2024

Luke with the big mitts!! #RipEm pic.twitter.com/lpfVG6KzPs

— UCI Men's Soccer (@UCImsoc) October 3, 2024
Postmatch Thoughts with Luke Pruter

"The opening game of Big West is always a little bit chaotic, there's a lot of energy in the air. The first half, we set the energy and the tempo really well, and we were pushing hard. They came out on fire in the second half, and a team like them that plays on a lot of momentum, you give them that early score and it fed into their next 15 minutes. We struggled hitting our stride after that until the last 15 minutes, we found a rhythm, and it's going to take time. We need to move on, focus on what we can take away from this match, and make some adjustments. It's good to feel a Big West game, there's a different feel in conference games, a little different, and we're going to have to respond."

"It felt great being out there again, especially with the big fan turnout; great energy. I felt like I was a little rusty, I got a couple of good touches, obviously conceding two goals you're never happy with, but to get back out there with the team and this defensive unit, we had such a good rhythm in that opening game of the season, we just need to gel together again and we'll be really solid. I thought we defended balls in the box pretty well, they were dumping a lot of balls in so that's a good takeaway. We really just need to turn in that pocket and run up the defense. As a collective, it was good to feel that pressure and get the rhythm back, work on our communication, organizing the back, still a little rust, but felt good and ready to get better for our next game at Davis."

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'Eaters Drop Big West Opener, 2-0 - UCI Athletics (2024)
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